Hi paul i built my custom home 2 yrs. ago and i was in the same situation as you i did'nt want to use vinyl siding it looks to cheap and i built a higher end home so i researched just about everything out there i ended up using a fiber cement product called Nichiha i used a cedar shake look we love it comes with a 15 yr. warranty on finish and comes in different colors and it is a full 1/2 inch thick opposed to hardy plank which is i think 5/16 thick

Hardie Plank is amongst the first company and commonly known name for fiber cement siding, but it usually cost more than other brands.

When it comes to fiber cement siding what is the difference between Hardie and Certainteed?

Certainteed is made with fly ash, Hardie is made with silica. The wood grain is more defined in Certainteed. Also look into Nichiha which is also made with fly ash and has the best looking wood grain of the three. I just used Nichiha and it looks real good. I read a lot of comments on all three before I chose and it sounded like the issues people had may have had to do with installation problems. I had my painter caulk very well and use good paint. It looks better than I ever expected.